The Very Thought of You
by Catherine Chen
Summary: Athena-Ares and Hera-Hades. Told in glimpses so far . Everything and everyone is trying to keep them apart but they cannot help wanting to be together and with such strong wills, nothing will stand in their way. My canon for my readers . Much love, Cat
1. Chapter 1

As with many of my stories, I couldn't sleep. So...here's a quick one-shot. Maybe I'll throw in one more chapter if I get a good response.

PLEASE REVIEW!!! Much love, Cat.

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She pressed a hand to her lips when she saw him lying there with his midsection wrapped in bandages. Her brow knitted with concern for him. Instantly she dropped her hand and lit her features with a gentle smile as his eyes opened. "The healing process is taking rather longer than I had expected it would. How do you feel?"

"As well as can be expected," he replied, his voice a little rough from lack of use. He cleared his throat. "Come closer," he said gruffly, motioning her to his side with a lazy sweep of his hand.

Athena did as he bid and stood stiffly by the side of the bed.

"Closer," he ordered, even in his weakened state, exuding a domineering and imperious air.

She arched an eyebrow in query at his tone as she sank to her knees and folded her arms on his chest, pillowing her chin on her hands. "Better?" she teased.

"Much." Lifting a hand, he gently stroked her hair, releasing it from the headpiece and tie that held it back and running his fingers through the mass of black tendrils that quickly unwound and spread out to surround them.

"Ares..." she protested shakily.

"You have no right to complain," he teased. "It is your fault I'm laying here," he reminded her as he continued to play with the soft wealth of her unbound tresses.

Her eyes flew to his, immediately contrite, she lifted a hand to cup his jaw. "Does it truly pain you terribly?" Athena paused. "I never meant to hurt you, well, perhaps I did, but I..." her gaze fell to his chest where she traced little circles on his chest with her fingertips."I was just so angry with you, jealous really...I didn't know that you and she were only, that is, I could only think about how you, how I thought that you had..."

He shushed her, leaning over to kiss the top of her head lightly. "You know I could never remain upset with you."

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She bit her lip when she saw him standing by the pool of water. She remembered when he had first brought her here, how they had playfully laughed and splashed each other before dissolving into a frenzied passion. Yet, even before lust and desire had become a part of their relationship, they had always simply derived pleasure from each other's presence. _How could she bear to let that go...to let him go?_ She ran up behind him and flung her arms around his waist, burying her face in his back, shutting her eyes tightly, and wishing beyond all else that she could stay with him.

"What is wrong, darling?" he asked, his soft, deep voice reverberating through her as it always did, suffusing her with its warmth and bringing to her eyes the tears she had held back for so long.

Still, she expelled a little laugh. "Oh Hades, I was so foolish...I should have seen. I should have known..."

"Hush," he murmured, turning and enfolding her in his arms. "Zeus is nothing if not crafty and opportunistic."

She clung to him. "I can't escape now. You must see that. There isn't a way out. I've tried running through every possibility but I..."

"Shhh...sweetheart, it will be alright," he said soothingly, running his hand lightly over her back.

Hera shook her head. "That is just something people say. Darling, you must realize...How can..."

He took her face in his hands. "Hera. Listen to me. We will find a way through this."

As she looked up into the dark gaze she so adored, knowing that in the future she would rarely, if ever, be able to look upon him with the love in her heart reflected in her eyes, to hold him as she held him now, she could feel a sense of hopelessness overtaking her as suddenly the years seemed to stretch out into the true meaning of eternity. "I am so sorry. You must know I never would have..."

He pulled her closer to him, so that her head rested on his chest. "You know I could never stay upset with you."


	2. Chapter 2

Wrote this last night when I was unable to/didn't wish to sleep. Enjoy.

As always, PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Much love, Cat

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"I'll only be a moment. I'm just readjusting a few stray…Hades!" she exclaimed as his tall form came into view of the mirror at which she sat. "You shouldn't be here. That is, we shouldn't be in here alone," she halfheartedly admonished him, refusing to give into the urge to turn and face him, afraid that in her weakness she would cast herself into his arms and beg him to take her away regardless of the turmoil it might cause.

He came to stand behind her, silently willing her to look at him, to confront what she had been trying to deny for months. "Here, let me," he offered, taking the pin from her loose grasp, refusing to allow himself to dwell on the softness and smoothness of her skin and the desire that had been rekindled with that brief, simple contact. _Tartarus, if he were being honest with himself it was a desire that had never been dormant, merely hidden beneath the surface,_ but he'd be damned if he'd let her know that with the cold, aloof manner in which she'd been treating him.

Like a little girl she folded her hands in her lap and crossed her ankles, waiting patiently for him to pin the tendrils of hair that had escaped from her coif. As he held the last lock between his thumb and forefinger he paused and _her lack of wariness be damned!_ her eyes flew to his in the mirror and as quickly as that she was trapped. She found herself unable to break the invisible connection that his dark brown eyes had formed with her own. Maintaining eye contact he let the strands slowly slip through his fingers and before she knew what he meant to do, thrust a hand through her thick, dark tresses, scattering pins and leaving her hair falling in wild disarray about her shoulders. Hera couldn't seem to find her voice to reprimand him, nor the will to do so. All she could seem to focus on were the skilled lips curved into a mocking smile set off by the teasing glint in his eyes that never failed to…

Hades caught her tightly as she rose and pressed her lips ardently to his, lifting her into his arms and carrying her off…

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"Damned nuisance," Athena muttered as she swept back her hair once more into a tight bun and replaced the golden headpiece that was intended to keep it out of her face. Her hair was one of the few vanities she allowed herself. As a warrior and an intelligent woman she prided herself on her ability to shun the frivolous trappings that other members of her sex indulged in but she couldn't quite bear the thought of cutting off her long, black tresses despite the way they hindered her activities. "Maybe it wouldn't look so terrible if I just cut it a bit," she mused, lifting a lock of hair and covering part of it to compare it against her current length. "Ares!" she cried, resheathing the sword she had brandished at him after he had suddenly clasped his hands around her upper arms, startling her. "What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from committing a travesty, sweetheart. How dare you even consider approaching even one precious strand with shears?" He wrapped a coil around his fist and lifted it to his cheek. "Don't you know how much I enjoy running my fingers through it, feeling it slide along my skin while we're…"

"Ares!" she interrupted. "What are you thinking? What if someone were to hear you? It's bad enough that we're alone together."

"How else was I supposed to find you other than cornering you here? You've been avoiding me," he complained.

She smiled despite herself. He was pouting adorably like a little boy who had been denied a treat. "You know as well as I do that we've spent countless hours together…"

"Yes," he agreed. "Mainly nights. Nightly visits that you arrange and that I must wait patiently to be invited for. Clandestine meetings that we must be sure to hide from everyone. I am not a patient man, Athena. Besides," he murmured, taking her hands in his, "I thought you wanted our relationship to be different. Not merely a…"

She silenced him with a brief kiss. "I do. It's just…I need time to…"

Ares smiled at her in the slow, seductive way that always caused her to become pliable to his will and she thought he understood, gladly parting her lips for the passionate kiss he swept her into, not realizing his intent until hearing the clang of her headdress upon the marble floor and feeling her hair curling around her shoulders and falling in soft waves to her waist.

She wanted to reprimand him but he smiled again and thought she inwardly berated himself for her foolishness, she allowed him to sweep her up into his arms and carry her off…


End file.
